Chapter 7: Road Trips and Rowdiness

Friday morning rolled around, and the atmosphere in school was tense, as students prepared for the long weekend. Friends made plans, parties were organized, and everyone anxiously watched the clock.
Calvin read the invitation that Michael Sullivan, the richest kid in school, had handed him and everyone else in the class on Monday. "Michael Sullivan invites you to join him for a Fourth of July celebration at the Sullivan beach house."
Susie sat beside Calvin and Jimmy, holding her own invitation. "Are you two going to Sullivan's party?"
Jimmy shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been that into parties."
Susie smirked. "Cheryl Beckett's going to be there."
Jimmy blushed bright red. "I might see what my calendar says," he stammered.

"How about you, Calvin?" Susie nudged the blond teen.
"Definitely," he grinned. "It'll be better than hanging around at home. My parents' idea of a wild Fourth of July is to mix a scoop of real coffee in with the decaf."
Susie laughed. "Can I get a ride there?"
"Sure," Calvin smiled. "If you don't mind holding the box I'm bringing."
"Box?" Susie raised her eyebrow.
Calvin put a finger to his lips. "It's a secret for now."

As Calvin spoke, Mr. Maxwell the Social Studies teacher rang the little bell on his desk, getting everyone's attention. "Look, I know it's almost the weekend, but let's just behave for one more hour, all right? I don't want to have to keep anyone after class, cause I want to enjoy my weekend too." The class quickly got the message and shut up. A torturous hour later, the bell finally rang, and the students all madly rushed out the door. Susie followed Calvin and Jimmy out to the parking lot. Jimmy fiddled with his tablet, and within a few seconds, his giant drone had lifted off the school's roof. Jimmy stepped onto the drone's platform, and the giant aircraft carried him off. "I'll call you guys!" he shouted down as the drone roared away.

Calvin straddled his bike and passed Susie the helmet. Susie climbed on behind Calvin as he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. A short ride later, and the pair dismounted in front of the Watterson house.
Calvin left his bike's engine running and disappeared into his house. He emerged a minute later with a satchel bag in his hands. Calvin clipped the bag to the side of his bike, next to the rear axle. "Go grab your stuff," he nodded to Susie. "I'll put it in the other bag."
Susie ran into her house and found her dad on his chair. "Hey, Dad," she began. "Calvin is giving me a ride to Mike Sullivan's beach house. Is that okay?"
"Hey, I trust him," Mr. Derkins nodded. "Just don't get too crazy, okay pumpkin?"
"Sure thing, Dad." Susie hugged her father and ran upstairs to grab her backpack.

Susie opened the door of her room and stopped short, seeing her mother sitting on her bed. "Mom? What are you doing in here?"
Mrs. Derkins held Susie's bag tightly in one hand. "I'd like an explanation of why you are going to a party," she said tersely.
"I was invited," Susie replied. "And I'm going. Everyone I know is going, and it's going to be fine. There's adult supervision."
"There will also be boys," Mrs. Derkins frowned. "Boys and girls shouldn't be alone with one another."
Susie rolled her eyes. "This from the woman who's trying to play match-maker with my prom date."
"Don't get snippy with me, young lady," Susie's mother wagged her finger. "I don't feel comfortable with you going to a party where there will be boys."

Susie surprised herself with the words that came out of her own mouth. "Too bad, because I am. I can take care of myself, Mom. I'm not a stupid little kid any more!"
Mrs. Derkins stared at Susie as she continued. "I trust Calvin to take care of me, and I trust myself to take care of myself. So give me my bag."
"No," Susie's mom held the bag closer to herself. "I'm not comfortable with this, so you won't be going."
Susie lost her patience. "Look, mother. You were the one who said I should experience life instead of sitting up here in my room studying. Well guess what? This is me; experiencing life!" With that, Susie snatched her bag and ran downstairs. A second later, Susie's mother shot to her feet and took off after her daughter.

Susie burst out of her house and hopped the fence next door to where Calvin was waiting. "What took you so long?" he asked.
Susie hopped on the chopper breathlessly. "Never mind that, go, go, go!"
Calvin began to ask another question, but at that moment, a shout cut through the air like a gunshot.
"SUSIE ISABELLA DERKINS, GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"
Calvin needed no telling twice. He put the bike in gear and dumped the clutch. The orange chopper shot off the mark. Calvin turned sharply out of the driveway and roared down the street, Susie hanging on for dear life behind him.
A few tense minutes later, Calvin turned off the main road and drove up a ramp into a parking garage. He shut off the bike and faced Susie. "What…the heck…was that all about?"

Susie looked away. "Mom didn't want me to go to the beach house. She didn't even trust me to go to a party with boys, let alone one with alcohol and no parents."
"What?" Calvin smirked. "Would it offend her delicate Christian sensibilities?"
"It's not funny!" Susie exclaimed. "I'm going to be in so much trouble. Can you just take me back home?"
Calvin grinned. "Look, the way I see it, you'll already be in trouble when you get home anyway, so why not just take advantage of it while you can?"
Susie wrung her hands, until Calvin opened a box in his backpack. Susie's eyes widened. The box was full of fireworks and bags of candy.
"I also can't eat all this candy and blow up all these fireworks by myself," Calvin smirked. "Come on, it'll be fun."
After a minute, Susie nodded. "I reserve the right to change my mind though," she said sternly.
Calvin started his chopper again. "Yes ma'am," he winked under his shades.

The drive to the beach house was unbelievably stressful. Mrs. Derkins had taken her car and was looking for Susie. Calvin was forced to stay off the main roads and cut a twisting, convoluted route through suburbs and small towns as they made their way south along the coast. After about two hours, Jimmy Sauchak called Susie and told her that one of his drones had spotted the Derkins' car returning to their house. Calvin returned to the main roads and opened the throttle. Susie relaxed as they rode along and watched the endless miles flash past. The late afternoon sun turned the ocean silver, and birds became black dots against the orange sky.

Calvin stared straight ahead, keeping an eye out on the road. Every so often, he checked in his rear-view, to see Susie looking curiously at everything around her. He smiled under the bandanna he wore over his face as the chopper ate up the asphalt.
Three hours of riding later, Calvin turned off the highway onto a long, twisting driveway. The GPS on Calvin's phone chirped brightly that he'd reached his destination. Susie and Calvin dismounted the chopper with shaky legs, as Michael Sullivan walked up. "Calvin Watterson and Susie Derkins!" he exclaimed. "So glad you two could make it! I'll show you to your room."

Michael led the pair up the stairs from the driveway to the front door of an enormous house. White, angular walls stood three stories high, interspersed with sections of floor-to-ceiling windows. Through the windows, people could be seen walking around, having drinks, and socializing.
"Now," Michael explained. "Tonight is the meet-and-greet night, for everyone to get familiar with one another. The next two nights are for partying, and the night after that will be for cleanup. I see you've brought your own alcohol, but everyone is sharing this weekend. Put it in the alcohol pile by the bar when you come back down. I'm making my welcome speech in about ten minutes."
With that, Michael pushed open a door, and ushered Calvin and Susie inside.

As they entered the room, Calvin and Susie's jaws dropped. This was clearly the master suite. A huge king-size bed stood proudly against one wall, a TV hung opposite the bed, and the floor was covered in absurdly luxurious carpet. Through a door, an en-suite bathroom gleamed white and grey. A Jacuzzi occupied one corner, and it even had a waterfall in place of a tap. A mini-bar on the bedside table held all manner of fancy drinks.
"Are all the rooms like this?" Calvin finally asked their host.
Michael laughed. "No. However, I saw fit to give you and Susie the master suite because you're the school's newest power couple."
"Power couple?" Susie asked. "We're-"
Calvin lightly elbowed Susie in the ribs. "Just roll with it," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Let's go downstairs, shall we?" Michael grinned.

In the kitchen, Michael climbed up on a chair and tapped a knife against a glass. As the ringing of the glass and the chatter of the guests died down, Michael spread his arms wide.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my Fourth of July party!" Michael beamed, to the sound of cheers. "Now, before we all get too ahead of ourselves, I have some housekeeping announcements to make! Firstly, all the boats on the jetty are off-limits until tomorrow morning. Secondly, tonight, we have to keep ourselves on a low profile. Our elderly neighbors are leaving tomorrow morning. After that, we can make as much noise as we want, but until then, let's be respectful. Treat this evening like practice for the prom."
Calvin and Susie nodded as their host spoke. Even for someone of his wealth, Michael treated everyone like family. He made an effort not to look down on anyone, and made sure to know as many people as he could. Everyone agreed that if you ever needed a friend, you could count on Mike Sullivan.

Michael was wrapping up his speech. "Finally, there will be two nights of partying after tonight, but the third night will be for cleanup. My parents and I agreed on this condition, for our use of the house this weekend. Anyone who participates in the festivities must help out, including myself. If you can't handle a little elbow grease, speak now and leave now, or forever hold your peace." The guests murmured their agreement.
Michael raised his champagne flute. "Then I declare this Fourth of July weekend has officially begun!"

The guests milled amongst themselves; talking, laughing, drinking, and enjoying the evening. Michael had taken a seat at the grand piano, and was playing tunes for the partygoers. Calvin and Susie had found Jimmy Sauchak, and Susie's friend Cheryl Beckett. The two had seemed to hit it off right away. Cheryl was chatting animatedly to Jimmy about his drones and inventions, while Jimmy answered her questions with a slightly goofy smile on his face.
"I think those two are getting along pretty well," Susie smiled at Calvin, who was in the process of draining a beer.
Calvin nodded. "Want to go outside?"
Susie stepped up and followed Calvin to the patio door.

Song: Stephen – "Outro" (Seriously, I recommend listening to it as you read.)
Below the balcony, Michael could be seen playing the piano by the pool, and singing.

"We found our way back to the city we came from,
Cause I looked back and I thought 'man, what have I gave up?'
I watched myself burn and there's nothing I'm ashamed of,
Cause I found my new self in the fire I'm afraid of."

Michael played a few more notes as Susie and Calvin watched from above.

"We found our way back."

Michael's fingers flew over the keys, and the people gathered outside cheered him on as the music swelled.

And now we're saaaaaved,
I found the rhythm, to the waterfall,
And when I'm braaaaave,
I'm not a victim, drowning after all!"

Calvin raised his beer as Michael finished the song. Susie leaned forward on the balcony and rested her head on her hands. "Thanks for taking me here," she smiled, turning her head to look at Calvin. "I'm having a good time, and I just needed to get away."
"Hey, no problem," Calvin smirked, taking another sip of beer. "I was gonna take you anyway. I needed at least one good friend here to make it more fun."
Susie blushed and turned her blushing face back to the people milling around the piano and the pool.

Author's Notes:
I thought it was time for some romance. That's coming up, so stay tuned. I appreciate reviews and feedback.

Also, I encourage all of you to read and review my main story, "The Last Firefly."
Thanks,
-the Seacopath